This invention relates to a blend of fibers useful, inter alia, for making saxony carpet having better appearance retention characteristics than corresponding carpet made from conventional carpet fibers.
A major portion of residential carpet is a type known as saxony carpet which is a cut-pile carpet having twisted, evenly sheared, medium-length pile yarn, the yarn being in the form of individual short lengths of plied yarn (tufts). Each tuft projects upwardly and terminates as a cut end.
Saxony carpet has a very pleasing initial appearance. The crimp in the individual fibers imparts exceptional cover and loftiness (i.e. firmness, resilience, and body) to the carpet while the ply-twist in the individual tufts gives the carpet a uniform and crisp appearance (i.e. tuft endpoint definition). Unfortunately, most, saxony carpet made from conventional carpet fibers lacks good appearance retention characteristics because the individual tufts of the carpet lose ply-twist when the carpet is subjected to normal traffic. This loss of ply-twist causes tuft ends to open up or "bloom", lose tuft endpoint definition and become entangled with neighboring tuft ends which gives the pile a matted appearance and causes the pile to develop "walkout" in traffic areas. The term "appearance retention" is used to describe the ability of carpet to retain its initial appearance with respect to tuft endpoint definition and lack of matting after being subjected to repeated traffics, where each "traffic" is the occurrence of an individual walking across the carpet.
Efforts in the past to improve the appearance retention characteristics of saxony carpet have not proven entirely satisfactory. For example., while appearance retention can be improved somewhat by inserting more ply-twist in the tufts, doing so also reduces the body of the carpet and provides a carpet having a lean look and a harsh hand, trade-offs the carpet industry is not willing to make and consumers are not willing to accept.
It is apparent, therefore, that a fiber system capable of providing saxony carpets having improved appearance retention and a pleasing appearance and hand would constitute a major contribution to the art.